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This book was a delightful surprise. It’s a magical realism romance novel that follows Sophie Drear as she takes a gardening job at Lilymoor House in Maine to heal from her grief. There, she discovers a mysterious, shifting door that leads to a trapped man. 

“When Sophie Drear plans her escape to coastal Maine for the summer—for a temporary job revitalizing the storied grounds at Lilymoor House—she doesn’t expect to fall in love.

But she does: With the beguiling land, the fragrant flowers, and the towering hedge maze. With the quirky staff and the enigmatic woman who owns the place.

And then, the door appears. Never in the same place twice, it leads her to a secret, and unfinished, garden with a frustrated thundercloud of a man trapped inside.

This mysterious garden is not the only sign that the future of Lilymoor is unstable: the foliage resists Sophie’s careful nurturing, vines threaten to strangle the hedges, and the manor’s owner has wild ideas about who will take over when she retires—including her inconveniently attractive nephew who is also there just for the summer.

Despite herself, Sophie has come to care for the residents of Lilymoor just as much as she cares for its grounds. With the help of one man on the outside of the secret garden, and one man on the inside, she might be the only person who can figure out exactly what Lilymoor needs to bloom once more (Goodreads).”

I’ve always really liked Ashley Poston’s books and this one was a really fun read. I liked how the main character and her friend, Harriet bonded over a special they saw on PBS when they were kids. That alone pulled at my heartstrings. And the special was about a historic house so that made it really fun for me as a reader because that is something I would totally watch.

Lilymoor reminds me of Filoli in Woodside, California. It’s so magical. Lilymoor sounds like a house that I would visit.

Cyrus is the man trapped in the garden and Sophie starts visiting him at magic hour every evening. The only problem is that Cyrus won’t know who she is outside of the garden. This took me awhile to understand and I was confused by this at first.

The owner of Lilymoor, Eula is having a party at the house and she wants both of her nephews to come. Cyrus is one of her nephews and Oliver is the other. Oliver comes to visit before the party and Sophie starts to get to know him too.

It felt like Sophie was going to have feelings for Oliver, but in the end she falls in love with Cyrus and it is such an interesting breakthrough when she realizes what will let Cyrus leave the garden.

I liked how the garden helped Sophie heal from her friend’s passing. I keep using the word magical, but it was. The garden helped her in so many ways that I think it’s symbolism for her life.

The overgrown and tangled state of the secret garden mirrors Sophie’s internal struggles. Her life has come to a standstill due to the profound loss of her best friend. Similarly, Cyrus is physically confined within the garden walls, symbolizing how grief can isolate an individual, trapping them in the past while the world around them continues to progress.

I really like Ashley Poston’s writing. I gave the book 5 stars out of 5. I like how she weaves magical realism so effortlessly into this story. I like the world and feeling that the garden and the house of Lilymoor gives me as a reader. I think it’s because of what gardens and old homes have meant to me in my life and while growing up. This was a heartwarming end of the summer read.